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What better way to connect with nature and have some fun than to head on over to your local zoo for some educational fun? Zoo scavenger hunts are perfect for animal lovers or for anyone who just likes to learn new things while completing fun activities. Here is a list of just a few of the different types of scavenger hunts that you can do at your local zoo.

Educational Scavenger Hunt Clues:

The best part of holding a scavenger hunt at the zoo is the fact that the environment is made for having fun while learning. You can make this game as educational as you please at a zoo. The best and most fun way to do this is to create scavenger hunt clues that are educational in nature. Some examples of this kind of clue go something like this: “Find an animal that has armor on its body,” “find a nocturnal animal that is covered in spikes,” or “find something that a deer might like to eat.” Players of this game can run to the area of the zoo where the animal that is described is residing or find an item that is representative of the answer to the clue. You can even have the players provide photos as evidence of them finding everything on the list. This kind of challenge is great for a children’s activity as well as as a ‘grown ups’ scavenger hunt. Always make sure that children are supervised, however, and don’t ask smaller children to run around the zoo looking for things without a responsible older person going with them.

What better way to connect with nature and have some fun than to head on over to your local zoo for some educational fun? Zoo scavenger hunts are perfect for animal lovers or for anyone who just likes to learn new things while completing fun activities. Here is a list of just a few of the different types of scavenger hunts that you can do at your local zoo.

Riddle Scavenger Hunt Clues:

This idea is in the same vein as educational clues, but riddle clues are a lot trickier than any other kind of clue. The riddles can be as easy or as complex as you want, making this idea flexible enough to use for family scavenger hunts or ‘grown-ups’ scavenger hunts. Riddles usually go something like, “What can see perfectly in the dark and sounds like ‘mat?’” or “I am tall, I love to jump, and I have a fanny pack that my kids sleep in.” This kind of game is a little more challenging and can force players of the game to think a little more outside of the box and be more creative when figuring out the answer. If you’re having trouble coming up with riddles, type “animal riddles” into a search engine and you should find plenty of material to choose from. The answers to the riddles can be things other than animals, however. They can be foods that animals eat, things that animals do, or places where an animal’s natural habitat is. You can ask the players to either find the place in the zoo where the animal in question is kept or you can have them come up with items that represent the answers to the riddles.

Interaction:

The more interaction that is possible during a zoo trip, the better. This makes the whole experience of a scavenger hunt so much more fun and encourages players to do things that they may never have done before, like have a butterfly land on their nose or feed some farm animals. To encourage interaction, challenge the players in your game to complete tasks that force them to interact with the animals whenever possible (and safe, of course). For example, challenge them to go into a butterfly exhibit and see if a butterfly will land on them. If the zoo that you are visiting is a “petting zoo,” then this is a great option for your scavenger hunt. If you are at a regular zoo, check to see if it has a petting zoo-style area or some other exhibit where visitors can touch the animals. If it does, you can challenge your players to visit that exhibit and pet an animal. Some exhibits will even let you feed the animals, which is a great option for a challenge, also. Of course, never try to touch or otherwise interact with an animal unless it is made specifically clear that this is allowed and safe.

Camera Challenges:

Taking pictures of each item found or each challenge done is a great way to have fun while at the same time making things more convenient using modern technology. Some photo scavenger hunt ideas include snapping pics of animals that are the answer to clues or capturing an animal doing something specific on camera, like eating, jumping, roaring, or anything else you can think of. You can ask players in your game to take a selfie with an animal at an exhibit. You can even require players to capture video of an animal or their habitat instead of video, making the whole experience that much more dynamic. Have the players bring along a cell phone with a camera, a digital camera, or some other device that will allow them to capture a photo or video when necessary. Photo hunts are a great way to make sure that the participants in the scavenger hunt are able to take home some amazing mementos of this fun event that they can cherish forever.

Create a Creature:

This is a great way to get players in your game to be more creative and challenge their imaginations during a scavenger hunt. To do the “Create a Creature” challenge, design clues that require your players to invent their own animals. Have your players navigate the zoo per the directions provided in the clues in order to find the animal enclosure from which they can find inspiration for their designs. Clues can prompt them to include certain body parts, abilities, colors, or other features in their creature design. A clue in this type of game could sound something like this: “Turn right at the butterfly house, walk across the bridge, turn left at the first entrance, and go to the very last animal enclosure on your right. Pick one body part from this animal to include in your own creature.” You could also make the challenge a little more interesting by including a theme for the creature, such as “the perfect superhero sidekick” or “a great companion or protector for the zombie apocalypse.” Create-a-creature is a fun and creative way to play this versatile game and is a great way to get kids and grown-ups alike involved and engaged in creative exploration. This challenge is an essential on your list of family scavenger hunt ideas.

Biology Clues:

No one loves a good day at the zoo more than the avid biology geek, whether they are kids or older. Give the bio-minded players of your next scavenger hunt game a real treat by working some science into the clues on your list. Have your players look for mammalian species of animals, members of species that live in particular environments (for example: write a clue that instructs players to find 3 species of animals that are found only on one continent, or a species of animal that is found on every continent in the world), or animals that have certain characteristics or adaptations, such as wings or flippers. If you are teaching a class, go the extra mile and work some scientific terms into your clues. Any die-hard animal nerd will love the challenge!

Some Tips:

Be Safe: Keeping your game safe is the first priority. Don’t ever touch or interact with an animal unless it is clearly allowed and safe and always obey all of the rules and regulations posted at the zoo. Whenever necessary, be sure to inform the organizers at the venue of any larger events that you might be holding so that your group can be accommodated and kept as safe as possible.

Cost: Zoos generally have reasonable admission prices, but always make sure to be sensitive to the budgetary restraints of people who are attending your party or event. If you have a large group, contact the zoo and see if you can get a discount. Many zoos have deals for people throwing birthday parties or other events with many people attending that allow large groups to purchase tickets at a discounted price.

Find Good Hiding Spots: Chances are, there is usually a lot of visitor traffic at your local zoo or whatever zoo you choose to hold your scavenger hunt at. Make sure, if you are hiding items around the zoo, that you choose hiding places that won’t be disturbed by unwitting pedestrians or curious children. This might involve asking vendors to play along with your game and put things behind a counter, which would require a bit more organization on your part. Of course, you should always make sure that you have the permission of organizers at the zoo to hide things.

Have Fun: As always, games are all about having fun—that’s the most important thing, after all. Have a blast at your next zoo scavenger hunt!

Some activities require creativity, but not all people are necessarily gifted with enough of it to come up with everything on their own. In the past, this meant teaming up with others and pulling your heads together to figure out just what you should do with your time. Today, thankfully, that is no longer the case. Now you can just give everything a quick search and find articles like this! If you’re having trouble planning your scavenger hunt there’s no need to worry. We’re here to jump start your thinking with a few fun scavenger hunt ideas.

A hunt can be broken down into a few main components: the theme, the objectives, the clues and the rewards. Each one needs to fit well with the others so that the entire affair feels consistent and enjoyable. Otherwise you run the risk of creating a messy, boring, unengaging experience. And who would want to put themselves and others through something like that?

Picking a Scavenger Hunt Theme

The theme is really the thing you should decide upon first when planning your scavenger hunt. It has an influence on the entirety of the hunt, after all. It can mold the format of the clues and the objectives to be hidden, as well as what the rewards will be. It would be strange to have a technology themed hunt with a potted plant as a prize, right? The theme sets the tone for everything and it helps you decide what is and is not appropriate.

That being said, you don’t need to have a specific theme in mind. A general scavenger hunt is fine! If you don’t want to pick a theme while brainstorming scavenger hunt ideas then by all means don’t. Just know that themes can be useful tools for narrowing the focus of the hunt and for giving players an idea of what they’re getting into.

It is also worth noting that the theme should be age appropriate. Do not have a horror movie themed scavenger hunt for toddlers and do not have a Barbie themed hunt for middle aged men (unless, of course, you are with a group of middle aged men who also happen to be Barbie enthusiasts; if this is the case please feel free to make that the theme). Common sense should tell you what is and is not a good idea. If all else fails, ask a friend for their perspective. They’ll probably tell you if you need to adjust the themes of the hunt.

Picking Objectives

The objective should match your theme, assuming you chose one. They don’t need to be perfect in every respect. They can be symbolic or metaphorical if you are having trouble finding literal objectives to collect. Or if you would like to collect objects that do not belong to you then you could turn the hunt into a photo scavenger hunt. This will allow you to include landmarks, people, and non-tangible objectives on your list. It will also give you something fun to look back on a few years from now.

Regardless of what type of objective you choose, try to keep them at least tangentially connected to the theme. It needs to be something that your players will understand without your intervention. It also needs to be a legitimately achievable goal or item to collect.

Some activities require creativity, but not all people are necessarily gifted with enough of it to come up with everything on their own. In the past, this meant teaming up with others and pulling your heads together to figure out just what you should do with your time. Today, thankfully, that is no longer the case. Now you can just give everything a quick search and find articles like this! If you’re having trouble planning your scavenger hunt there’s no need to worry. We’re here to jump start your thinking with a few fun scavenger hunt ideas.

A hunt can be broken down into a few main components: the theme, the objectives, the clues and the rewards. Each one needs to fit well with the others so that the entire affair feels consistent and enjoyable. Otherwise you run the risk of creating a messy, boring, unengaging experience. And who would want to put themselves and others through something like that?

Picking a Scavenger Hunt Theme

The theme is really the thing you should decide upon first when planning your scavenger hunt. It has an influence on the entirety of the hunt, after all. It can mold the format of the clues and the objectives to be hidden, as well as what the rewards will be. It would be strange to have a technology themed hunt with a potted plant as a prize, right? The theme sets the tone for everything and it helps you decide what is and is not appropriate.

That being said, you don’t need to have a specific theme in mind. A general scavenger hunt is fine! If you don’t want to pick a theme while brainstorming scavenger hunt ideas then by all means don’t. Just know that themes can be useful tools for narrowing the focus of the hunt and for giving players an idea of what they’re getting into.

It is also worth noting that the theme should be age appropriate. Do not have a horror movie themed scavenger hunt for toddlers and do not have a Barbie themed hunt for middle aged men (unless, of course, you are with a group of middle aged men who also happen to be Barbie enthusiasts; if this is the case please feel free to make that the theme). Common sense should tell you what is and is not a good idea. If all else fails, ask a friend for their perspective. They’ll probably tell you if you need to adjust the themes of the hunt.

Picking Objectives

The objective should match your theme, assuming you chose one. They don’t need to be perfect in every respect. They can be symbolic or metaphorical if you are having trouble finding literal objectives to collect. Or if you would like to collect objects that do not belong to you then you could turn the hunt into a photo scavenger hunt. This will allow you to include landmarks, people, and non-tangible objectives on your list. It will also give you something fun to look back on a few years from now.

Regardless of what type of objective you choose, try to keep them at least tangentially connected to the theme. It needs to be something that your players will understand without your intervention. It also needs to be a legitimately achievable goal or item to collect.

Writing Your Scavenger Hunt Clues

Of all the scavenger hunt ideas you’ll need to come up with, clues are by far the most difficult. Who can say with all honesty that they can produce a quality list of clues and riddles in a short amount of time? Proper clues and riddles take a lot of time to get just right. Once more, these are also going to need to relate back to the theme somehow, assuming you do indeed have a theme. This is far easier said than done. Riddles can be difficult to come up with on their own, much less with theme constrictions!

The only advice that can really be offered here is to take your audience – in this case the players – into careful consideration when you’re writing the clues. If you are working with a group of children then your job is going to be considerably easier because they will, in all likelihood, have a harder time figuring things out than an grown-up normally would. If you are working with full grown adults, however, you’re in for a harder time.

A good idea is to consider the professions and hobbies of the people involved. Are you playing with a group of people you went to college with? Then do your best to remember their majors. What references would they get? What corners of pop culture could you hint at to get them thinking in the right direction? Are they history buffs or do they prefer science? Will they get that witty pun that you came up with using the periodic table?

It might feel overwhelming to ask yourself all of these questions, but it’s worth it. You don’t want to bore a bunch of your friends with overly simplistic riddles. You also don’t want to stump them with overly complex ones. So be careful just how hard you make them and be sure that each and every clue makes sense.

Lastly, you can always choose not to have clues at all. Your scavenger hunt could be point blank and tell the players exactly what they need to find and where it is. This would turn things into a race of sorts where planning your route and the order of items to collect becomes more important than getting the answer to any sort of riddle.

Alternatively, you can get ready-made photo scavenger hunt clues and riddle clues (just click the link). Our site has tried to make the whole process of creating a scavenger hunt as painless as possible. We even provide awesome infographics that take you through it step by step.

Picking Rewards

Rewards are an unnecessary component of the hunt, really. But they can be a nice incentive to any reluctant players. Telling someone to run around and pick up arbitrary items all day might get you a scoff and an eye roll, but telling them that they’ll be given a prize if they finish in first place will likely raise an eyebrow. It is therefore recommended that you come up with a decent gift for the winner.